Nataliya Moseychuk: “Every morning is good, because my family is nearby”

She masterfully controls the hellish live debate – and cries when the mother of the dead boy hears her child’s heart beat for the first time in another person’s chest. She laughs like a girl when she talks about her family. TV presenter, influential journalist, support for teachers, philanthropist for children, mother, daughter – we talked to Natalia Moseychuk about the main aspects of her life.

Withstanding the enormous tension of several hours of live broadcasting with not always loyal interlocutors, asking uncomfortable questions so as not to offend – and always remaining yourself – is professionalism of the highest order. No wonder Natalia has been included in the Top 100 Successful Women of Ukraine rating for the second time in a row. What does such popularity cost it and what opportunities does it offer? What does it feel like to be an influential presenter on the air and a caring mom and wife at home? Read about all this in an exclusive interview with Woman Magazine.

You force politicians to show themselves as they are, to take off their masks. You voice exactly the questions that the viewer on the other side of the screen wants to ask…

And so it is. I hate showmanship, sloganomania, and I try to avoid it on my broadcasts. I don’t consider Right to Power a classic talk show either. I tell my guests: “This program is a national roundtable. Come and report back.” And I’m sorry when the guests switch to higher tones. Perhaps this adds to the rating. But Roman Skrypin, whom I consider my teacher, always said: “If the audience takes away at least 5 ideas from your program, it means it’s successful.” This, not hype, is the criterion of success.

My task is to show the authorities all of us – Ukrainians. We need politicians to come out of their bubble and see what people are like, what their problems and suggestions are. And they answered people’s questions. Because when you get there, to Bankova Street, you forget too quickly what it’s like to walk on the ground and ride the subway!

My task is to show the authorities all of us – Ukrainians

This year, we started the new season of Right to Power with a broadcast that brought together startups, businessmen, and students. They talked to Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the future of the country, and the president listened. And we succeeded, the viewers wrote to us afterward: “Finally, a constructive conversation, not a showdown!”

And “VIP with Natalia Moseychuk” is my personal view and an opportunity to discuss important topics with influential people in more depth. Immerse yourself in the stories of life, hear their opinions.

What are you planning to surprise us with in the new season of Right to Power? 

New people, experts. We are planning to upgrade the studio. We also want to go beyond the studio and expand the format to involve ordinary people as much as possible.

Who are your programs for? Who is your audience? 

We are watched by housewives, businessmen, and politicians themselves, and such a wide audience is very pleasing. But for me, the most important thing is that young people are watching. Sometimes mothers of teenagers come up to me on the street and say: “Can you reschedule Right to Power for Friday night? Because the child watches you on Thursday until night, and then you can’t get him to school in the morning.” It is very important for me to give young men this message: nothing is unattainable. A few years will pass, and these 12 seats in the program will be occupied by young, motivated, progressive people.

How do you feel about being recognized on the streets? Is it easy to be a public figure? 

I look at it through the prism of opportunities. Publicity allows us to help. I am very grateful for the trust of the audience, for their response. Together, we can always do more. When I tell the stories of children in need of help in TSN programs, I always have support. I am very grateful to everyone for this. I remember how we raised 60 thousand as a country. dollars for a kidney transplant for Yurchik Sinitsa 4 years ago. And we succeeded, and I bow to each and every one of you. Now Yura is already in the 5th grade, and his dream has recently come true: the whole family went to the sea together for the first time in their lives.

Publicity allows you to help

But every time I’m afraid that we’ll fail, that we won’t raise the full amount. And then our combined power of goodness makes a miracle happen, like recently when we raised $2 million for little Yegorchik Kudryavsky from Brovary. He has SMA, and now the boy will receive an injection that will cure him and give him a long, healthy life. I couldn’t believe it was possible – but Ukrainians are really incredible people!

Television in itself is very emotionally taxing, and you also talk about people’s grief almost every day. How do you recover? 

Is it possible to recover from this? Not completely. The bruises on the heart still remain, and they hurt. But alongside the grief, there are many happy, impressive stories. When you talk about them, you realize that you should always have faith in goodness in your heart. And good deeds are returned a hundredfold.

You often don’t hold back your emotions on the air. Does emotionality hinder or help you in your work?

On August 24, in the center of Kyiv, we hosted a festive edition of TSN dedicated to the Ukrainians who gained our independence. And Ms. Lyudmila, the mother of the deceased boy, Ihor, came to the program. On the air, she met the man whose life her son had saved for the first time. Lyudmyla agreed to give the heart of her deceased son to a Crimean, ATO veteran, Mr. Viktor. Lviv doctors performed the transplant. And so they met for the first time at TSN.  The mother could hear her child’s heart beating through a stethoscope live. This touching moment is beyond words. Both the audience and I cried. We were all united by this story. When this happened before, I always reproached myself: well, I’ve disrupted the air again… And then at some point I asked myself: “Natalia, what makes you different from others? Are you inanimate? Don’t you have feelings?” And I began to allow myself to cry, to stop being ashamed of them.

You are also the curator of the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine, an educational award that recognizes teachers in your own nomination, “Choice by Heart.” Why education? 

In Ukraine, the state does not actually work with the most important people – educators. No one can restore order like teachers can. And all our troubles are due to lack of knowledge. One might argue that Churchill was a “D” student at school. Yes, he was – but what leadership skills he had – what is now called soft skills! And in the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine (founded by Zoya Lytvyn of Osvitoria), the jury members try to recognize those teachers who foster these qualities in students. They are visionaries and innovators. They are finally not talking about the present, but caring and thinking about what the future should look like: education, training, children, parents, teachers…

And the nomination “Choice by Heart” is special. This year we will honor two teachers. Traditionally, an educational therapist works in a hospital school or inclusive classroom, teaching students who need special attention and support. And for the first time, together with the Vostok SOS charity organization, we will award a teacher who works in a school in the frontline zone in eastern Ukraine. He goes on a volunteer mission to schools where there is a shortage of teachers. Or he stayed working despite the difficult conditions. Currently, schools in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts are severely short of teachers, and teachers often work part-time, teaching several subjects at once.

This year’s award (the official award ceremony took place on October 2 – the note. ed.) – the fifth. It is also a jubilee for me as a curator. Every year, being in this teacher community is a breath of fresh air. Teachers have become very young. And I am extremely impressed by this. 70% of this year’s top ten are young teachers. This means that young people stay in schools. And also that the mentors will quickly find a common language with our children. They have a huge responsibility, and I want them to believe in themselves, and I want everyone to believe in teachers.

Tetyana Vakulyuk, Natalia Moseychuk, Ulyana Butsyak

What would you change in education? 

I dream that all young patients in hospitals in Ukraine will have access to education. And that this work should be systematic and supported by the state. We are working on this in the Right to Education project. Unfortunately, it often happens that children spend their childhood in hospital wards. But education and lessons allow them to escape from daily routines and explore this world. This is exactly what we see in Superhero Schools. And we are working to increase the number of educational spaces. Hospital-based schools are already operating in Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Zhytomyr, and Dnipro. And also in Lviv. The Kyiv-based Okhmatdyt has three classrooms, a library, an inclusive playground, and a garden that we plant together with young hospital patients in early summer. During the warmer months, children study botany and harvest crops there. We are currently working with the Small Heart with Art team to open two new Superhero Schools in Kharkiv and Kryvyi Rih. And for teachers who want to teach young hospital patients, a free online course “How to teach superheroes?” has been developed.

What else gives you strength? 

Family. My husband had never watched my programs before, he said: “I don’t need it, me and Matviychyk (my youngest son – Ed. ed. note) Let’s go to bed!” But Matvii has grown up and started watching Right to Power with one eye, and my husband is probably watching with him. He worries about me and doesn’t point out any mistakes. And he always asks me  to be a moderator on the air, not a party to the conflict. He is never jealous of my work because he understands my love for news and viewers.

Does a sense of humor help in family life? 

Yes, especially when a man doesn’t take you seriously (laughs – ed.).

Would you like him to? 

Absolutely not! I get tired of seriousness, of people in ties. I want to come home and be myself. I want my family to be themselves too. My husband and I want our family to be sincere and fun – and it seems we are succeeding.

You have two sons: the eldest, Anton, is 23, and the youngest, Matthew, is 12. Do you raise them differently? 

Anton no longer lives with us – he is studying abroad in Germany, so we concentrate all our teaching efforts on Matvii. But yes, they are completely different. Anton is a well-mannered and intelligent young man. And Matvey is a prankster, he can do almost anything. We have just a few requirements for him, and I set them. I am the one who makes the rules, and my husband is the one who breaks them: forgives, pampers, kisses, hugs.

I am the one who makes the rules, and my husband is the one who breaks them

Do you and your husband share family responsibilities? 

Rather, no. I myself love doing housework: pruning roses, washing, ironing, cooking. It somehow calms me down and brings me back to earth. However, political news is always on in the background. As for duties… You know, I realized a long time ago that no one owes anyone anything in this life. The family begins to fall apart at the phrase: “You should…” I, for one, don’t even have that kind of language construction in my head. And my husband’s too. Instead, there is a desire to make our life together easier and happier.

Once, when talking about your meeting with your husband, you called it a story of “ten years towards each other.” Now do you regret not starting a relationship with Ilya earlier, as soon as you met him for the first time? 

I’m sorry. And I feel guilty. Fate gave us our first meeting back in 1999. I remember once I was standing at a bus stop waiting for a bus, and a terrible downpour started. Suddenly, a car pulled up – it was Ilya, and he politely offered to give me a ride to the subway. But I answered proudly: “Thank you, I’ll wait for the bus!” So I waited… for 10 years (laughs – note. ed). We met again later on Channel 5, but only the third meeting was fateful, when I was already at 1+1.

Sometimes I joke that I owe my husband 10 years. In fact, I owe them to both of us. We could have had 10 years more happy, calm, joyful life, when every morning is good just because your person is there. But in the end, everything turned out the way it did. Perhaps, thanks to these “ten years in the making,” I now appreciate what I have so much and do not allow myself to spoil it with some petty claims.

Text: Olga Koval 

Photo: 1+1 channel press service, Taras Udovenko